Data storage and retrieval systems are used to store information provided by one or more host computer systems. Such data storage and retrieval systems receive requests to write information to one or more data storage devices, and requests to retrieve information from those one or more data storage devices. Upon receipt of a write request, the system stores information received from a host computer in a data cache. In some storage systems, a copy of that information is also stored in a nonvolatile storage device. Upon receipt of a read request, the system recalls information from the one or more data storage devices and moves that information to the data cache. Thus, the system is continuously moving information to and from a plurality of data storage devices, and to and from the data cache.
The plurality of data storage devices are often interconnected via a network. Upon system start-up, or upon a system reboot, it is often necessary to set a signaling rate for each of the plurality of data storage devices. Prior art methods for setting such a signaling rate often require a network disruption and/or sampling or resampling of individual device signaling rates.